A SCOT is helping to spearhead support to Pakistan following the devastating floods which have left a third of the country underwater.
Dingwall-born Annabel Gerry is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Development director for monsoon-hit Pakistan.
An area bigger than the whole of the UK has been flooded, killing more than 1100 people. This includes 348 children.
It is believed a further 1600 people have been injured, with 33 million people affected in total. Over one-third of the country is underwater.
The Pakistani government estimates the floods will cost $10 billion (£8.5bn), while 30,000 homes destroyed, sparking an emerging refugee crisis.
Crops across Pakistan have also been decimated, sparking fears over widespread hunger and devastating impacts on people’s livelihoods.
Gerry, 54, is helping to lead the UK’s response from the British Embassy in Islamabad.
She said: “The UN’s General Secretary Antonio Guterres wasn’t wrong when he referred to this catastrophe as a ‘monsoon on steroids’ – it is utterly heart-breaking.
“The UK is proud to stand with Pakistan as a major humanitarian donor and we are working round the clock to get life-saving aid to the most vulnerable.
“Tens of millions of people are affected with many left homeless and we face a race against time to save lives because of the high risk of water-borne diseases spreading amongst displaced communities.
“The £15 million aid package announced by the UK will offer a lifeline by providing food, clean water and shelter. It will also support families to repair their homes and maintain their livelihoods.”
The UK Government has so far offered £16.5 million in total in life-saving humanitarian support to help provide shelter and essential supplies to people across Pakistan.
They also pledged £55m at last year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow to partner with Pakistan to fight climate change.
However, in 2020, the UK Government cut overseas aid from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI). This accounts to a drop of £4 billion in expenditure.
There have been further calls by many, including UK MP British MP Claudia Webbe, for international governments to cancel Pakistan’s neo-colonial debts, with these being replaced with climate reparations for loss, damage and mitigation.
Inflation in Pakistan is at an all time high at 27%! Pakistan’s international debt should be immediately cancelled - they should instead be given reparations for the climate crisis caused.
— Claudia Webbe MP (@ClaudiaWebbe) September 1, 2022
In Scotland, the Scottish Government was said to have broken a global “taboo”, as the first government at COP26 to commit loss and damage finance.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the move as “not as an act of charity but as an act of reparation”.
Anum Qaisar, SNP MP for Airdrie and Shotts wrote to the First Minister calling for further action.
Her letter said that “Scotland continues to be a world leader on climate change”, continuing to state that nations such as Pakistan require Scotland’s “full support” financially and through progressive policy to mitigate the impact of climate change.
It continued: "I am proud that the Scottish Government has ensured that the onus to bear the brunt of climate emergency does not lie with the Global South, rather with the developed economies who often do not feel the impact of climate change."
“In line with our commitments in the Climate Justice Fund, what action can the Scottish Government take to help the people of Pakistan in this time of crisis?”
One third of Pakistan is underwater. 33 million people impacted. Tonight I’ve written to First Minister @NicolaSturgeon asking what action the Scottish Government can take to help Pakistan. 👇 pic.twitter.com/sS2BvauNU9
— Anum Qaisar MP (@AnumSNP) August 30, 2022
From 2022, the Scottish Government pledged to increase the Climate Justice Fund, which aims to ensure that the impact of climate change does not disproportionately hit those countries least responsible, to £36m.
The World Bank’s analysis has shown that 74 of the world’s poorest countries, which contributed to less than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, will be the most devastated by climate change.
Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world when to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.
